The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas (Paperback)

~ Jack E. Sheehan (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Las Vegas has been largely shaped by a handful of colourful and astute casino operators who turned a dusty desert town into the gaudy, booming holiday mecca that it is today. The essays in this book introduce us to these "players". We discover how early leaders like Cliff Jones, Moe Dalitz and Benny Binion first grasped Las Vegas's potential as a centre for high-stakes gambling, and we read of mobster "Bugsy" Siegel's effort to bring to reality another man's dream of a glamorous resort-casino on a then-remote site at the edge of town. Other visionaries like Jay Sarno, Sam Boyd and Jackie Gaughan helped turn casinos into islands of fantasy, replete with lavish entertainment spectacles. The arrival of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes introduced a new style of corporate management - a style of management since carried on by Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Wynn - to an industry previously led by independent entrepreneurs and their families. In preparing their essays, the contributors consulted a wide range of sources and conducted interviews with many of the surviving players and their families and associates. The result is an informative account of a city's growth through the vision, energy and decisions of some remarkable gambler-businessmen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087417306X
• ISBN-13: 978-0874173062
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #852,162 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Find Out How Vegas Became What it is Today-Read this Book!, June 16, 2000

By	Philip Wallace (Antioch, TN) - See all my reviews

I recently visited Las Vegas for the first time and wasmesmerized by what I saw. Every casino appeared to have a story behindit, and upon my return home, I wanted to know those stories.

The Players is a terrific read. The chapters give just ther right information on each topic to develop a working contextual knowledge of Vegas History. I was particularly fascinated by information on the Glitter Gulch rebels like Boyd and Binion. With the development of the Fremont Street experience, Downtown Vegas is a formidable tourist destination once again.

Overall, a great book. Don't let the fact that is published by a university press scare you. The chapters are short and clearly written. The casino business jargon is kept to a minimum, or when it is used, it is explained well. This book deserves more of an audience.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great stories, but a bit dated, July 24, 2003

By A Customer

This book is at its best when focusing on the less recent past in it's stories of Benny Binion, Howard Hughes, Jay Sarno, Sam Boyd and the like ... which are all excellent. I found the Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Winn ones a bit lacking, mostly because their stories aren't really over yet.

The last two chapters, not bios, but concept pieces , "How Popular Literature Has Treated Las Vegas" and "The Adult Playground Becomes a Heaven for Families" .. are pretty much a waste since Vegas has now focusing on going back to its "Adult" roots ..and the read no longer makes sense.

However, it you want to get some great and entertaining stories of the "good old days" .. and even a little before the "good old days", the first two-thirds of this book is certainly worth the asking price.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stories. So-so writing., September 6, 2002

By	"kellyomaha" (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews

These are great tales of Las Vegas, but the writing drags. The research is clearly of the just-believe-what-someone-told-me school. There's still a great book to be written about the builders of the Strip and Glitter Gultch. This book is not the one.